I’d like to suggest a causal link between commonplace tragedies of yesteryear and an undiagnosed contemporary trend toward neurotic and self-destructive behavior, but not in the way that most would assume.  Consider a handful of altogether ordinary tragic events that might have befallen a normal westerner at the turn of the 20th, and then another set of terrible things that could be expected to befall a denizen of the 18th century.

- Premature death of a minor child or sibling
- Industrial or agricultural-related death or dismemberment
- An unchecked outbreak of an unknown disease
- Disastrous meteorological conditions (hurricane, flood, tornado, etc.)
- Unmitigated home invasion

Further back,

- Violent uprising and government instability
- Famine
- Death due to poor hygiene
- Homeland invasion and occupation
- Indentured servitude and slavery

Indeed, I won’t be so haughty as to suggest that Western Civilization as we know it has “completely eradicated” these threats, but several major things have happened to stem the tide of social and persnal tragedy in the intervening years

The nineteenth century marked a period of increasing government stability throughout he western world.  Modern and mechanized agricultural methods made their advent, as well as great strides in the methods of food distribution, eliminating the potential for a food riot in Paris.  The importance of basic sanitation began to be realized, especially in the treatment of such conditions as leprosy and gangrene.  While they weren’t mere memories, the notion that a hangnail might be fatal found its modern home in the absurd.  The thrust of nationalism and secured borders began to address the threat of an unidentified foreign invasion and occupation.  For the first time in history, the notion of abolition of slavery began to gain traction, especially amongst those in power.

The 20th century, at severe risk of understatement, has seen far more rapid and profound change, not only in technology, but in our culture.

Medicine has begun to address issues of health, antisepsis, disease prevention, and even genetics, reducing to a shadow of its former self the chance that a child might suddenly or mysteriously be killed, for example by falling into a river or being trampled by livestock, by an unchecked ear infection, or simple malnutrition.  Statisticians and legislators alike have begun to address the issues surrounding industrial or occupational safety.  Industrial accidents were commonplace as little as fifty years ago, nearly eliminated now by safety training in the workplace.

Great efforts have been put forth to understand the spread of disease, such that a major outbreak can often be avoided altogether.  Hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods are no longer mysterious and sudden disasters.  Even volcanic eruptions can often be recognized while still impending, allowing residents to evacuate potentially affected areas, rather than staying behind to bear the cost in human lives.

Increased urbanization had dramatically reduced the likelihood that an individual could enter a home and hold or kill the residents without detection.  Information technology has increased the degree to which individuals stay in contact with one another.  Spare me the philosophical nonsense about layers and separating people from one another.  People talk more with one another now because it’s far easier to do so.  Your nearest neighbor is no longer a hundred kilometers away, and you’ll see him at least in passing more than once per year.  The nearest doctor is no longer a day’s journey.

So how does that bear on the cultural ennui cropping up more and more in today’s youth?

Perhaps they’re not sure what to fear.  Fear is being hoarded, by politicians, parents, and news outlets.  Politicians use fear to control populations, whether for something as simple as voting for an opponent, or something as fundamental as eliminating civil liberties.  News outlets use fear in hopes of boosting ratings.  Once upon a time, three people dying in an auto accident would have been news, but only in a smaller town.  Now, an unbeknownst individual could be lost at sea on the other side of the world, and it may make the evening news here.  Parents are terrified that something untoward might befall their children.  As a parent myself, I’m constantly fighting the temptation to see a sexual predator lurking behind every bush or profferred piece of candy.

By contrast, older children have been crippled by an unfamiliarity with fear in any form.  The worst thing to face children, adolescents, and increasingly adults, is something far more disgusting than fear of disembowelment at the hands of invaders.  Rather, modern humans face STRESS, an anxiety that something might happen.  Contrast that to a mother two hundred years ago who bore perhaps a dozen children because she knew that at least two of them would likely die before reaching maturity.  No parent would wish discomfort on their child, but can you imagine what such a mother, properly educated, would think of the notion of boiling bottle nipples, or spraying antiseptic on a kitchen floor?

A few months ago, I watched a teenager demonstrate a procedure for quickly scribbling with a ballpoint pen to heat the tip, and then burning herself with the hot tip of the pen, simply for the sensation.  More recently, teenagers are cutting themselves en masse, and calling it “emo”.

The coming generation is desparately short on fear, and aching for fear and pain to affirm that they’re alive.  Once, Yakuza members might lose a finger to make atonement for failing at an important assignment.  Soon, young people will be cutting off appendages on a dare.

All this is coming off an article I read tonight about a teenager, 13, who having cut her wrists several times as part of an emo initiation ritual, hung herself in her bedroom.

It was probably the most exciting thing that ever happened to her.

And we, the preceding generation, will quite predictably wring our hands with worry and doubt when this sort of thing happens.  We’ll continue slapping warning labels and brightly-colored stickers on everything we make, and failing to make the connection.